


To survive against all odds

by Reynarius



Category: World of Warcraft
Genre: Angst, Betrayal, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Healing, Hurt/Comfort, Mentions of Past Torture, Personal Growth, They are in love folks, Vent Piece really, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-14
Updated: 2020-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:20:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23138338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reynarius/pseuds/Reynarius
Summary: Alleria relives a painful nightmare from her time away from home and on Argus, one where she was betrayed and hurt in a way that could never be forgiven. But there is always hope for something better, even in the darkest hours.
Relationships: Alexstrasza/Alleria Windrunner
Comments: 12
Kudos: 42





	To survive against all odds

**Author's Note:**

> hey, this is just mainly a vent piece but note:
> 
> do yall wonder why Turalyon's in-game sword model is half-formed from the Light like it's been shattered? Well here is also my personal headcanon about that weapon appearance :)  
> I also just have a lot of feelings about that entire chunk of lore and I wish I could yell about it more

One of the things Alleria disliked most was being reminded of Argus. Almost as much as she hated being reminded of a certain High Exarch. The trust they had once shared was shattered with a single action, and upon returning to Azeroth - Alleria kept away from the paladin.

Yet she remembered the day of his betrayal as clear as one could recall such horrific events. It was burned into her mind in every way imaginable, what he said would never escape her and what he did to her even less so.

Oh, what a fool she had been…

Alleria stumbled up the ramp of the Xenedar. She just had to make it to the main chamber, make it to Turalyon and she would be alright - everything would be alright. 

It was when she stepped into the entryway of the main chamber that for the first time since having escaped the legion world of Niskara, she felt at peace to see Turalyon. 

She could feel the Light energy pouring off of him even from across the room, he had changed so much in the time apart. Hundreds of years. Alleria was just happy to be back among friends and loved ones, no matter what changes had been made.

“Turalyon…”

The paladin immediately turned to face her as soon as she spoke, eyes going wide. Disbelief was clear in his voice when he spoke, but she could still see the joy as clear as day in his eyes, “Alleria…? Is that truly you?”

She nodded, slowly making her way across the room to him. He did as well, almost laughing when he seemed to realize that he was not imagining some ghost of her.

“It is, I...I just barely managed to escape from the Legion’s torturers. You have no idea how good it is to see you again.”

Turalyon stopped before her, looking quite concerned. Alleria was so comfortable in his presence that she did not notice the hesitation in his words, “I tried...I looked for you, as much as I could. But they hid you from me, I am so sorry that I did not find you sooner.”

Alleria just smiled, “It’s okay, what matters is that I am free now - safe from any harm they would see inflicted upon me.”

“Speaking of, I should call for the more specialized healers, my love. Light only knows what those foul demons did to you.”

He called out to his paladins for aid and turned back to her. Adding as he stopped at her side, “I am so grateful you are back, truly. I should have never allowed you to depart, searching for the Void even to study it can lead nowhere good as we both see now surely.”

There was no urge to argue or even agree with him at that moment, Alleria knew her mistake but she just wished for it to not be something he held over her head. 

Nausea overwhelmed her without warning, and her legs turned to jelly beneath her. She forced herself to sit down on a nearby crate next to a rack of blades, her hand reaching out for the rack to support herself. Her body still thrummed with a quickly fading adrenaline after having fled her demonic captors, but her legs demanded a break.

“Careful, please go easy. The healers should be along shortly, okay? Stay with me.”

“I’m not going anywhere-,” Alleria began. She reached out to him, wanting only to take his hand to reassure him that she was truly sitting there next to him. But perhaps to reassure herself of the same thing. 

Yet it was instant that her skin touched the warm metal of his gauntlet that everything shifted between them. 

Pain shot through her hand and up along the length of her arm. It felt like a molten fire that engulfed every nerve and muscle, twisting and searing without pity. Nearly akin to the torments that the Legion had inflicted upon her.

She bit back a startled cry and instead chose a sharp curse. Alleria clutched her hand which physically - appeared to be unscathed, “T-turalyon? Why did that…?”

 _‘You know why, Alleria,”_ a dark voice sneered hatefully, echoing from within her own mind.

 _It was the Void._

“Alleria, what...what have you done?”

Her eyes shot upwards from her aching hand to see Turalyon staring at her with nothing short of panic in his eyes. Rising from his hand in small, wisps of purple smoke-like fumes were the Void energies that were now coursing through her veins. 

“This is void magic...Alleria, what did you _do?_ ” He asked again, his voice quickly growing less gentle with each passing second.

Alleria shook her head and moved to stand up. Turalyon immediately stepped away in response, eyes narrowed upon her. Her voice nearly broke as she tried to explain, “I had no choice - I did what I _had_ to do!”

“The _Void!?_ Was that truly your only choice? Alleria, you do not have any idea the power that you are toying with! It will seep in and take hold like an _infection._ ” 

“It was the Void or it was an eternity as a prisoner to the Legion. _You_ weren’t coming to save me, so I did what I had to do in order to make it back to you!”

He just frowned, “Please tell me that you will relinquish its hold over you now that you are free?”

Alleria paused and looked down at her hand again, seeing the flickers of purple energy beneath her skin. It was true, the Void was dangerous without a doubt. But if it could be harnessed as a weapon against their enemies…

The lives she could save with that type of power at her disposal, she had to think of that. Yet she knew if she did not free herself of the Void, Turalyon would likely never forgive her - or worse. 

It was two very different paths that lay before her, and it pained her to make a choice. The Void had been there to save her when no other was. She had begged and screamed for the Light’s salvation, for Turalyon to save her. But they never answered, and they never saved her.

Truly it was while she was surrounded by evil, and pain beyond measure that the darkness had become her only ally. With the Void’s power, she would never fall victim to the Legion or any like them ever again.

“I...I will not. I am sorry, Turalyon, but the Void...it can change this war for us. For the better.” 

Turalyon slammed his hand down against the railing, shaking his head in disbelief, “Do you not understand that you jeopardize everything we are working for here? How can I be certain the Legion has not turned you into some sort of spy for their cause?”

“Turalyon, please...I am _still me._ The Void was my only hope of ever getting away from them, you must believe me - if there was another path I would have taken it.”

Contempt rose in his words then, his face twisted in a scowl, “If that was true, then you would not be standing in front of me.”

Alleria tried once again to get closer, but Turalyon was quick to back away once more. The ranger hurt, seeing him so revolted by her even though outwardly, nothing had changed. 

“Why is it now that just moments after being so excited to see me alive and well, that you look upon me with contempt and fear?”

“Because you allowed the Void into your soul _willingly._ You had no regard for what this may mean for our war, and the lives you put at risk simply by _being here_.”

Turalyon looked away, unable to look her in the eye when he spoke again. 

The Legion’s Inquisitors had been merciless. Flaying her apart body, mind and soul, all while delighting in the screams that they ripped from her throat. Hundreds of years, they would heal and inflict pain unimaginable.

However, nothing hurt more than the four words Turalyon uttered next with nothing but disgust in his voice, _“You should have died.”_

“You...you don’t mean that, Turalyon.”

It was then that several of the Lightforged marched into the room. Turalyon looked to them, and then back at Alleria before letting out a heavy sigh. As though he was resigning himself to some fate. 

She watched as much of his anger faded, replaced only with a grim expression. Alleria soon realized why when he gestured towards her and ordered without hesitation, “Seize her.”

“Wait, what? What is the meaning of this!?” Alleria shouted, backing away as the paladins slowly closed in on her. They followed Turalyon’s command without question, their loyalty was to him - not her. 

Turalyon stated firmly, “You are not well, my love. You allowed the Void into your very being, I am afraid that if you will not relinquish it of your own free will then…”

She turned back to him, eyes narrowed and burning with a wave of newfound anger, “Then _what?”_

“We will forcibly sever it from your being, the Light will cleanse you of this evil. You mustn’t resist it, please. I do not wish for this to be more painful for you than it has to be.”

A volatile mix of emotions flooded through her veins. Fear certainly, confusion, anger, and the sting of betrayal. She had fled one captor only to find herself in the grips of another, and just as it was on Niskara - there would be no mercy for her here.

The Lightforged grabbed for her then, their heavy plate armor dug into her skin and the light lashed at her darkened soul. The pain did not halt her for even a second, she kept kicking and fighting back in a desperate attempt to free herself. 

“ _NO! I will not be a prisoner! NOT AGAIN.”_

Her words and pleas fell upon deaf ears, as they tried to drag her away. But still, she fought, she would never _stop_ fighting. 

“Alleria! Stop this! Stop fighting, the Void has driven you mad!” 

Alleria snapped and snarled like a wild beast, fangs bared and her words laced with the venom they themselves had filled her lungs with, “I _trusted you,_ Turalyon! _You’re supposed to be on my side, you bastard!”_

She ripped herself free with a roar, getting a good enough kick in that she was easily able to drive her foot into the jaw of the Paladin grabbing her legs. When he released her, she fought back the other two holding her arms.

“Alleria, STOP! Restrain her, now!” Turalyon shouted, reaching for his sword.

Alleria backed away from all of them as they dared to close in, one of the Paladin’s producing a set of light-infused chains in their hands. She would not go easy but without a weapon to defend herself, she had little hope of fighting them off for long.

Even while she backed herself against the wall, her body thrumming with wave after wave of emotions - her adrenaline faded away. Abandoning her when she had need of its strength most of all. 

The lingering effects of the Legion’s last round of torture had left her weak, weaker than she had ever felt before. Alleria was forced to brace herself back against the wall just to remain standing on her own two feet. 

Turalyon himself closed in, blade drawn in a show of defense rather than offense, "Please forgive me, Alleria. But while your heart lay open to the Void we cannot trust you. Xe'ra will show you a better path, I promise."

Alleria tried to fight against the draining of her strength, her muscles and eyes burned with the effort to stay functioning. Her mouth was dry, and her voice came out hoarse and broken.

"For t-this - you...will never be forgiven. _I swear it."_

He tried to reach out to take her arm when she stumbled forward, but not before she threw herself away from him and back into the corner. Alleria was surrounded, trapped by the people she thought that she could trust most. 

But they did not trust her, no, they wanted to make her their prisoner. To convert her onto a path that she no longer wished to walk.

 _"I...w-will not be broken."_ She muttered under her breath, lifting her head to stare at Turalyon.

"That's enough, Alleria. No more dabbling in dark magic, no more hunting for the Void and its secrets. Just welcome the light back into your heart, and you will be free again."

Alleria stared at his outstretched hand, whole body heaving. This was just like the choice she had made several hundred years prior, leave to hunt for the Void or stay and be with Turalyon. Or the one she made minutes ago to tell him that she would not renounce the Void.

_The Void or Turalyon…_

Not that the choice would matter in the end. She would still be a prisoner of the Lightforged, and would never know the taste of freedom again until she was bent and broken to the Light's will. 

It was funny, to think she had survived hundreds of years of torture at the hands of the Legion's most vile and sadistic overseers, only to trade those demons in for ones with gleaming golden armor. But she had not broken to the Legion, not even with their worst tearing her apart by every fiber of her being. She did not break in the isolation they forced her through when not ripping the secrets from her flesh.

She did not break then, and she would not break now to lesser men. Alleria Windrunner would never submit.

She pushed herself off from the wall to stand on her own two trembling legs. Her eyes burned with a fire that had not diminished for a single second since the day they had left Azeroth. Turalyon did not falter at the sight of her defiance, he only tightened his grip upon his sword.

"If you will not come peacefully, then we will have no choice but to drag you."

Upwards he brought his blade as if to strike her with the pommel. That was when she saw the moment to strike, lashing out like a cornered animal as his weapon came towards her.

_"I...WILL NOT. BE BROKEN!"_

She roared as with all of her strength, summoned a blade entirely of Void energies and brought it up to catch the edge of Turalyon's. Steel met shadow with a vicious ringing, only for a sound like the shattering of glass to follow. 

The High Exarch's weapon was cut clean in two, then promptly shattered by the Void formed sword. Light energy exploded outwards from within his blade, strong enough that it sent him flying back into his paladins and her back into the wall. 

It sapped her of her remaining strength, all the fight only for it to end as it would have regardless. The last thing she saw before collapsing was Xe’ra coming into view in the center of the room, and to see a blinding light creeping across her vision.

That light would be all she saw when she woke. For Xe’ra had chosen a very specific punishment for the defiant ranger. Alleria was trapped in a cell with no walls, no doors, and no windows. Everything was just simply _light._

No sights, no sounds, no contact and no food with which to keep herself fed. Alleria was forced to sustain herself with energy that caused her severe and excruciating pain. Even being trapped in this cell of pure light caused a fire to burn in her veins, not stopping for even a moment.

Even in a place filled with Light, there was no hope for her. Days, weeks, months, maybe even years passed as she sat in total isolation. Each second driving her closer and closer to madness.

Turalyon had forced her into a new future which she could have never foreseen, and it hurt - more than any torture that was inflicted upon her. To know that even though she survived the Legion, he could not forgive her for using the Void and wished her dead.

It was during those years in that cell aboard the Xenedar that Alleria's heart shattered, and she was certain that it was a wound that would never heal...

It was then that Alleria jolted awake, her eyes darting across her surroundings to realize that she had fallen asleep in her rooms back at Wyrmrest. This place was not Argus, she was truly safe - he was not here to hurt her.

Alleria jumped again when she felt the warmth of a hand against her forehead, turning to find Alexstrasza peering down at her. Concern shining in her eyes and across her expression.

The great Aspect hummed then, brushing strands of golden hair from Alleria’s face, “Bad dreams?”

“Yes,” Alleria breathed, just relieved to find herself with the purest heart she had ever known. 

Her fingers reached out to trace along the curve of the Aspect’s jaw ever so gently as if she was committing her face to memory. Her voice wavering as she whispered, “Of Argus...as it always is. Betrayed and abandoned by those I loved. But it is when I reach the lowest that I wake…”

The Aspect leaned into her hand, murmuring into her skin, “Oh, my heart...I hate to ever think of you in such agony, it breaks my heart to see you hurt."

Alexstrasza leaned down slowly, nuzzling her face into the strands of Alleria’s hair so she could croon so sweetly into her ear, “You deserve only the most beautiful of dreams, Alleria.”

Alleria just melted into her Queen’s embrace and her warmth, eager to push away the fading remnants of pain that seemed to return to her once injured body. The Life-Binder could almost sense it and leaned back to press a kiss to the palm of her hand. 

“You...you would never betray me, right…?” The ranger asked, almost afraid to even be questioning the Aspect.

Instead of a negative response, Alexstrasza moved her lips down from Alleria’s open palm and graced her wrists with a most reverent kiss. Her words were soft, but there was an unbreakable iron in their truth.

“I would never even think to do such a horrendous thing. I know such pain, and to inflict it upon another would sicken me. So no, not in this lifetime, and most certainly not in the next.”

Her kisses continued upwards along Alleria’s arm, kissing away the lingering phantoms of a once terrible agony inflicted upon her skin. Alexstrasza took the time between each to remind her wife that she was loved, that she was safe, and that for as long as she drew breath - would protect her from such pain ever being felt again.

She ended by placing just a gentle kiss to her lips, unable to stop herself from smiling into it. Alleria was not much use either, smiling right back as tears welled up in her eyes.

“Thank you…”

Alexstrasza pressed a large hand on Alleria’s chest, right over where her heart lay within beating wildly. Warmth flooded her veins as the Aspect’s magic seeped into her body, without pain, and without torture. 

To be touched by such a wonder always felt like pure magic, especially when she soothed with her life-giving powers. It was like coming to the warmth of a hearth after spending hours in a raging blizzard, or the first fresh breeze of spring that smelled so clean and so alive.

“Your heart, _this_ heart, it will not know suffering at a loved one's hand ever again.”

Alexstrasza paused only to lean down, pressing her forehead to Alleria’s affectionately. She crooned with so much love while snuggling even closer, “You have survived against all odds, Alleria Windrunner. But now you can simply live, and I will guard your heart as if it is the most valuable treasure in all of Azeroth.”

**Author's Note:**

> anyways, a lot of this is just my own wacky skewed version of canon but one fact remains the same - Alleria Windrunner deserves better treatment and love
> 
> also this is a Turalyon hate club, dont @ me


End file.
